“Well, I was born before television and we had to entertain ourselves or listen to the radio.

“There were no vaccinations for most diseases such as polio, measles and whooping cough and many children died, there were no frozen foods and very poor refrigerators so cooking dinner was a daily activity.

“There were no contact lenses, ball point pens, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, microwaves, sliced bread, ATM machines, laser beams, pantyhose, Velcro, bar codes, computers and man hadn’t reached the moon.

“Your grandfather and I got married first and then lived together.

“There were no gay rights, very few dual careers, few child minding centres and no such thing as group therapy.

“Girls didn’t play football and boys didn’t do housework. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your brothers, sisters and cousins.

“Time-sharing meant spending time with your family in the evenings and weekends - not buying a condominium on a resort island in the Bahamas.

“We never heard of FM radio, I pods, IPhones, yoghurt or men wearing earrings.

“We listened to music on our radios and concerts were local amateur productions to help the Red Cross or the local hospital.

“The term ‘making out’ referred to how well you did in your school exams and Pizza Hut, McDonalds, instant coffee and coffee machines were things of the future.

“You could actually buy something such as an ice-cream, a ride on the bus or make a phone call for the equivalent of 10 cents.

“‘Grass’ was mowed and all drugs came from the chemist’s shop with a doctor’s prescription. 

“‘Coke’ was a drink, ‘pot’ was something your mother cooked in and “rock music’ was a lullaby.

“A ‘chip’ was a piece of wood; you went to the hardware shop to buy ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ wasn’t a word, and only jewellers’ shops had burglar alarms.

“Now, dear boy, things change so fast that I cannot keep up. You should think about how much has changed in your short life.”

By the way – this grandmother was only 65 and born in 1952.

 – Ann Holmes